


I’ll Give You A Quarter For A Cigarette

by BloodFrost



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship, Confessions, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay Male Character, High School, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, One True Pairing, Secret Crush, Senpai Notice Me, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot, Shyness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 04:31:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19822582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodFrost/pseuds/BloodFrost
Summary: Armitage Hux, an intelligent 3rd year high schooler, has never come up against a problem that he couldn’t solve.Well, except ONE:He harbors a long-standing crush on a guy he’s casually known since middle school: the enigmatic Ben Solo. Hux is crazy about the quiet, handsome Ben ... but has no idea how to even talk to the guy. The situation seems hopeless ...... until a couple of days filled with chance interactions helps level the field in his favor, a bit.





	I’ll Give You A Quarter For A Cigarette

They called it “The Alley.”

Although it really wasn’t an “alley” at all. Rather, it was a small strip of space between the main building and the upper class level science building; a somewhat dark, narrow dead-end that smelled faintly of chemicals, tar, and, of course, cigarettes.

Formally, smoking on campus was banned for the students and staff of Rodian High School. _Formally_. Yet that didn’t stop students and staff alike from wandering into the little space, in-between classes, during lunch, to chat, to copy homework, and, of course, to fill their lungs with the the toxic (yet comforting) stream of tobacco.

Armitage Hux, a junior, had never done much more than glance at this area, when hurrying from one class to the next. But that was before he noticed that HE went out there, standing at the very darkest point, cigarette dangling from mouth, earbuds loud enough to be heard from several feet away:

Ben Solo.

Hux had casually known Ben since the two were in middle school together; or rather, Hux knew Ben, but Ben didn’t seem to be aware of Hux’s existence at all. The two had different groups of friends, and, even being in some of the same classes together, they had never spoken or interacted with each other on an in-depth level at all. In fact. Hux was positive that, if asked, Ben wouldn’t even know his name.

But despite all of this, Hux had carried an intense crush for Ben, these past few years. Being a mostly-A student gave Hux plenty of time to zone out during classes, to sit and daydream about the tall, quiet, _drop-dead gorgeous_ boy. He’d imagine being able to run his fingers through Ben’s soft-looking tousled black hair, to touch and kiss the full red lips.

To ... to do _other_ things.

Yet even in his daydreams, Hux would stop himself and sigh. He knew that his imaginings were futile. In the first place, he had no idea whether Ben liked boys or not. And even if he did ... why would he like somebody like _Hux_?

Hux, with his nerdy A average, his ghost-pale skin, the red hair he loathed, and the thin body that his father so heavily disapproved of.

Still ... hope is a hard concept to kill off completely. And Hux continued to live in hope, that one day, somehow, things might change between them. And what better way to initiate that change than starting with (at least) a few friendly exchanged words? And what better place to do that, than the Alley?

Hux had attempted to gain the courage to go up to Ben every day this week, only to chicken out any time he stepped close. Well, today was the day he manned up.

It was after gym, and Hux, freshly showered, strode casually past the entrance of The Alley, to scope it out. He was there, of course; just where Hux knew he’d be. And luck was on the redhead’s side today; Ben’s headphones weren’t in, meaning it would be easier to get his attention. 

Hux waited until he was alone, then he sauntered up and said, as casually (he hoped) as possible,

“I’ll give you a quarter for a cigarette.”

He had learned this phrase, this practice from observing the other students (and occasional teacher) as they traded smokes with one another.

Ben tilted his head and peered at him, and Hux quickly looked down, knowing that if he made eye contact at that moment, he wouldn’t be able to control he blush he could feel wanting to break out on his face.

“ _You_ smoke?”, Ben asked, in a doubtful tone of voice. Even as nervous as Hux felt, hearing Ben speak set off a spark in his chest. Ben had a rather deep, pleasantly nasally timbre to his voice, and the sound of it gave Hux tingly goosebumps along his arms.

“Y-yeah.”

“Really? Why have I never seen you in The Alley before?”

Crap, this was turning out to be more complicated than Hux had bargained for. Thinking quickly, he replied,

“I don’t smoke unless I’m really stressed out.”

Ben gave him a long look, then shrugged as if to say “None of my business.” He pulled the pack out of his pocket and edged out a cigarette, holding it out to Hux. Hux held out the quarter but Ben just shook his head and said “It’s cool. You’re in my Lit class, right? Uh, Armitage?”

_He knows my name!!!_

Hux pocketed his quarter and nodded. “Yeah. I hate that though; just call me Hux.”

He held the cigarette between his fingers, having another moment of panic. What the hell should he do with this? Obviously he didn’t intend to smoke it, and just shoving a loose cigarette in his pocket (which would likely cause it to break) didn’t seem like something a ‘real’ smoker would do.

He settled for tucking it cautiously, casually, behind his ear. He hoped it didn’t look too weird on him, but then again he’d seen other students do this as well.

“Thanks,” he said, turning to walk away. He didn’t want to stay too long, and —

“So what’d you think of that quiz today?”

Hux turned back around.

_Holy shit, he’s talking to me!_

“I think I got the first problem wrong, because I can never remember the difference between objective and subjective, but after that it was kinda easy.”

“Shit, I couldn’t remember ANY of the problems,” Ben admitted, taking another long drag of his cigarette. He blew the cloud in the opposite direction, and continued, “I’ll be happy if I get a C.”

Hux laughed, while inside he was marveling at the concept of having a real conversation with Ben. He tried to think of something interesting to say to keep it going, but before he could come up with anything, Ben was going on,

“I just asked ‘cuz you said you only smoke when you’re stressed out. I thought maybe the quiz did that to you.”

“Oh. Uh, no, that’s not it. I guess I’m just worried about the math test I have later,” he said, not quite lying. “It’s over like, 6 chapters, and it’s 25% of our grade. AND math is my worst subject, so —“

Ben took a final puff of his cigarette, then dropped the still-smoking stub to the ground, gently stomping it with the toe of his shoe.

“Shit, that sucks. You want another cigarette for later-later?”

“No, no, one is good, thanks.”

The first of two warning bells rang, and both boys looked up. Ben crouched down, his backpack balanced between his feet, and zipped up the loose pockets. When he was finished, he rolled up his left sleeve, revealing at least a dozen different rubber bracelets. He grabbed the fourth one from the wrist, black with a circle of green skulls going around it, and began carefully working it up and around the others, until it was off his arm.

“Here,” he said, holding it out to Hux. “Take this; maybe it’ll bring you some luck on your test. I was wearing that when I took my history test last week, and I got a B- even though I guessed almost everything, so I think it’s lucky.”

Hux took the bracelet, internally screaming at himself to breathe, when his fingers made brief contact with Ben’s.

“Thanks,” he said, sliding it over his own wrist. He arm wasn’t as thick as Ben’s, so he had to slide the bracelet quite a ways up, to get it to stay put. “I’ll give it back in the morning.”

“Keep it. I’ve got way too many others,” Ben said, rolling up his other sleeve to showcase the bracelets on that arm.

_Oh my god oh my god oh my god I’m wearing something of his!! Is it too soon to hug him and kiss him and tell him that I love him and want to marry him and have his babies?_

“Thanks,” Hux said, just as the second warning bell rang. He shouldered his backpack and turned in the opposite direction. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

“See ya,” Ben replied, and took off running for his own class.

As Hux walked along the hallways, he could feel the big stupid smile that was plastered to his face ... but was powerless to make it go away. He lifted his wrist up to his nose, sniffing the bracelet, which had the faintest traces of whatever mouth-watering cologne it was that Ben used.

 _I wonder what the world record for wearing an object continuously without ever taking it off is_ , he thought to himself as he neared his next class. _Because I think me and this bracelet are about to double it._

— —

“I just think it’s stupid.”

Mr. Baxter sighed and set down his chalk, briefly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“‘Stupid’ is not an adequate adjective to describe your personal feelings about this poem. Remember, always give details.”

“Fine. I think it’s ridiculous to have somebody’s head in your lap while you feed them. That’s just a choking hazard.”

Hux sighed himself, continuing to doodle at the top of his notebook. It was several days later, in English class, and the class had spent all morning analyzing poetry. In this class, as in ALL of his classes, Hux had a routine; he’d voluntarily raise his hand and answer a number of questions that corresponded to what period it is. For example, this class was his second period, so he’d raised his hand and answered questions exactly twice. After that, he had free range to daydream.

Unfortunately for Hux, the subject of his daydreams was too far out of range for him to look at (Hux sat in the front row, Ben in the back corner) so he couldn’t have a visual aid to enjoy. Hux had thought several times about switching seats (the seat to the right of Ben was empty), but figured that it’d look really strange to do so, out of no where, when it was already halfway through the semester.

So he contented himself with slowly edging up his sleeve, and playing with the rubber bracelet Ben had given him last week. For once he was thankful to be so thin, because people naturally assumed he was always cold, making it normal for him to be wearing long sleeves in warm weather. Hux needed the length; he felt he would die of embarrassment if Ben caught him still wearing the bracelet.

Sometimes, Hux wished that he had gone ahead to take advanced classes, like his guidance counselor wanted him to. But Hux hadn’t wanted to leave behind his friends, so he’d declined. But sometimes ...

 _There’s nothing ‘stupid’ about this poem,_ Hux thought to himself, going back to drawing. _But everyone is always in such a hurry to get through class, that nobody takes the time to really enjoy the stuff we read._

He was about to raise his hand and ask to go to the bathroom, to help him pass up a little more time, when, from the back of the room, Ben began to speak.

“This poem is actually really beautiful,” he said, quietly. Hux kept facing forward but he could hear the sound of others shifting in their seats, to face Ben. It was rare that he spoke during class. “If you close your eyes, you can hear the sound of the meadow they’re laying in, the stream beside it, the birds; everything.”

A moment of silence, and then the teacher was asking, 

“Why do you think Mr. Humbolt characterized it as being ‘stupid’, then?”

“My guess would be because he doesn’t understand it, or he didn’t take the time to really read the words,” Ben answered, and several people snickered, at his blunt honesty. “Like the part about feeding someone in your lap being a choking hazard. Yeah, it probably is, but it’s also like, an ultimate act of love.”

“How do you figure that, Mr. Solo?”

Hux could hear the shrug in Ben’s voice, as he explained, “Eating is one of the necessary things we have to do, to live. It’s how we survive. If you’re feeding someone else before yourself, it means that you place that persons survival above your own. I think that’s love, or a part of it, anyway.”

Mr. Baxter smiled. “Very good, Mr. Solo. I rather like that interpretation. Now, let’s discuss —“

The teacher droned on about something or other, but Hux wasn’t paying attention. Ben’s words had touched him; he hadn’t known, or hadn’t realized, that beneath the hair and the muscle there seemed to be a sensitive soul. 

Much like Hux himself.

The bell rang, and Hux looked down at his notebook, and blushed; during Ben’s time talking, Hux had absently(?) drawn at lest a dozen little hearts, with Ben’s name prominently featured in the center of each one.

He quickly slammed the notebook shut as Ben passed by on his way out, sighing a little to himself. This was the only time of the day he was this close to him; the rest of the time, he could only watch from a distance.

He stood up, and frowned. He had had a headache all morning, and it seemed to get worse when he stood up. Had he eaten today? He honesty couldn’t remember.

_Oh, well — just suck it up Armitage, you’ve only got like two more periods until lunch. You’ll live._

So he shook it off and left the room, to head to his next class: gym.

There was one large gym at school, and always two classes being taught at a time, by two different teachers. Space was garnered by drawing the large black curtain in the middle of the room, to separate the two halves (and keep the two classes separated). 

But for some reason, when Hux passed by the gym doors on his way to change, he noticed the curtain was still undrawn, and the area was still just one large room.

And when he got to the locker room, he noticed that it seemed much more crowded than usual.

“Hey,” he said to his friend Poe. “How come so many people are in here?”

“Oh, you know Mrs. Merkle? The pregnant lady who teaches the other period 3 gym class?”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, I guess she went into labor early or something. Anyway that means Coach Yamahisa is taking on her classes, too, so now our gym period will have twice as many people.”

“Hm,” was all the commentary Hux offered on that. He didn’t really care either way; gym was his least favorite period, and most of the time he just put his head down and pushed through it.

However, he was in for a treat today, when, after he took both class’s attendance, the coach announced that since he was taking on Mrs. Merkle’s classes, gym was going to be more of an “open period” of free activity, rather than the normal set sports and games.

“There’s basketballs, volleyballs, the weight room, and an area for tennis and badminton,” Coach Yamahisa explained, pointing around the gym. “Do whatever you like; my only requirement is that you keep moving for the duration of the period.”

This was perfect for Hux; this meant he could simply just walk around and watch everyone else, rather than have to participate in anything himself.

But as Hux was preparing to walk, a light tap on the shoulder paused him. He turned around ... and came face to face with Ben.

“Hey,” Ben said, smiling. “I didn’t know you had gym this period, too.”

_Oh my God, Ben was in Merkle’s class? I had no idea!_

“Yeah,” Hux replied, hoping he sounded more cool and collected than he felt. He glanced around; everybody was dividing into little groups to play different things. “So what are you gonna spend this period doing?”

Ben pointed to the area about 20 feet behind them, a small weight room. “I’m gonna go in there and lift a while. Hey, wanna join me?”

If Hux wasn’t in such strict control of himself, he would have openly drooled, right then and there. To actually watch Ben, with his muscular arms, lift weights? Hux would surely have a heart attack, watching such a thing.

That, and the fact that he’d probably be embarrassed (because Hux doubted that he’d have the strength to lift even the smallest of weights), caused him to ((very regretfully)) say, “No, that’s okay. I’m gonna walk a little. Have fun though.”

Ben nodded and walked away from him, standing outside the door of the weight room and doing a series of stretches, to limber himself up for it.

Hux paused where he was, kneeling down to pretend to tie his shoe, to give him an excuse to stay and watch Ben for a few minutes.

But when Hux came back up, he had a vague sense that something was wrong. All of the loud sounds of the room suddenly went into slow-motion, as if Hux was hearing things from underwater. The lights were also — they were going —

— —

Hux opened his eyes, squinting against the bright overhead light. He was aware that he was laying down, flat on his back, some sort of rough blanket pulled up to his chest.

What the—?

“Hey. Are you okay?”

Hux turned his head, and was startled to find Ben’s head very close to his own, watching him.

“W-what the hell? What happened; where am I?”

“Nurse’s office.”

Hux sat up slowly, holding his hand against his thumping head. This was embarrassing; the very last thing he remembered was watching Ben doing stretches ... and here he was now, alone, with him.

“Did I get hit in the head or something?”

“No. You just passed out. Actually it was kinda cool; it’s like something invisible touched you and all at once you just like, fell to the ground.”

“How did I get here?”

“Oh, um ... I carried you,” Ben said, looking a bit embarrassed himself. Then he added, as an afterthought: “Coach asked me to.”

Hux felt more embarrassed than ever. That, and disappointed; all of those daydreams he’d had of being carried in Ben’s strong arms, and then it _actually happened_ , and he was too out-of-it to even enjoy it.

At that moment, the nurse came in, a look of relief on her face at seeing Hux sitting up on his own.

“Oh, good, you’re awake!”, she said, coming over and putting her hand on his forehead. “How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Hux answered her honestly.

“Well, I called your father to let him know what happened, and he said that your blood sugar was likely too low, causing you to faint. You’re diabetic, correct?”

Hux nodded, feeling his face heat up once more. He had been diagnosed as a diabetic about a month before school started again, and he had been keeping this a secret from everyone except a tiny handful of his friends. And he REALLY hadn’t wanted Ben to know this about him; why would Ben be interested in a sickly type like Hux?

“Well, here,” she said, going to a little fridge. She took out a single-sized bottle of apple juice, and handed it to him, along with a cereal bar from a cabinet. “Drink this, and eat this slowly. Try and raise your level a little bit. Do you have a testing kit with you?”

Hux shook his head.

“Well I’ve got some sterile prick-needles and a reader here,” she told him, laying the items out on the small table next to him. After you eat, test yourself, and we’ll see how you feel from there. If you’re still feeling tired or sick, we’ll send you on home for the day, okay?”

Hux nodded. “Thank you.”

She nodded. “I’m going to be doing some typing in the other room. If you need me, call out to me.”

She left, leaving Ben and Hux alone once more. Hux didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t imagine what Ben must be thinking of him, after hearing all that the nurse had —

“You know you really should be more careful with stuff like this,” Ben told him, picking up the little tube of testing strips and absently tossing it back and forth between his hands. “It’s possible to die, if you let yourself get too low. And you should have some kind of snack on you, like in your pocket, all the time.”

Hux tilted his head, surprised. Ben was talking almost as if he was familiar with this. As if in response to Hux’s thoughts, Ben continued,

“My mom is a diabetic too. And she’s not very good with keeping up with herself, sometimes, ‘cuz she’s busy so much. Sometimes she gets really low and we have to make her sit down, eat, and rest. Never saw her faint, though.”

“What kind is your mom?”, Hux asked, unwrapping the cereal bar and taking a cautious bite.

“Type 1.”

“So am I.” He unscrewed the cap on his apple juice and took several long swallows, quelling the dry ache in his throat. Already, he was starting to feel a bit better.

“So ... this is gonna sound weird, but, well, this is the first time I’ve ever been alone with you. I mean, except for that one time in The Alley. So, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“Uh, if what I say is being way out of line, or you think I’m being gross, you can tell me to fuck off, I wouldn’t be offended.”

What in the world could Ben possibly want to ask Hux, that would have him fidgeting like this?

“What is it?”

“Would you ... would you ever want to DO something sometime? Like, go to the movies, or bowling, or something like that?”

Hux’s heart had a moment of confusion, not knowing whether to stop dead in his chest, or to beat so hard it’d make Hux pass out again. In the end, it chose something in-between, leaving Hux unable to do much more than utter a faint “Huh?”

“We, um, you know we had a lot of classes together in middle school and stuff,” Ben continued, still not looking Hux in the eye. “And I always wanted to like, talk to you, but I wasn’t sure what to SAY. ‘Cuz you’ve always been so calm, so smart, I’d think, why would he want to talk to a dumbass like me?”

_Oh God, is this REAL? Or did I just never wake up after fainting, and this whole thing is some kind of crazy dream? Please god don’t let it be a dream!_

“That’s ... surprising,” Hux answered Ben honestly, once he’d gathered his thoughts together. “Because I’ve always kinda wanted to talk to you, too. And you’re not a ‘dumbass’, by the way. But you’re like, really cool and unique and ... and I guess I didn’t know what to say, either?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,” Hux said, nodding. “And to answer your question ... I kinda suck at sports, and I’m clumsy, so bowling probably isn’t a good idea. But movies, or like, eating ... yeah. I’d really like to do something like that with you.”

“Just so there’s no confusion ... I mean like, a date. Not just hanging out, but a _date_.”

Hux smiled. “The answer is still yes.”

“Okay! Cool! What’s your number?”, Ben asked, pulling out his phone. Hux gave it to him, marveling at the miracle that was happening right now.

“Are you a texter or a talker?”, Ben asked, once he’d put his number in.

“More so a texter.”

“Me, too. I actually want to be a writer some day, like a horror writer. I get my best ideas late at night; if I wanted to text you some of my weird stuff, would that bother you?”

“Not at all; I’m kind of an insomniac, so I’m awake like all the time. But if your stuff scares the shit out of me, it’s your responsibility to send me a bunch of funny memes and stuff to calm me down. Okay?”

“Definitely,” Ben agreed, and both boys burst into light laughter. But the laughing, combined with the fluctuating adrenaline that was coursing through Hux’s system at this unexpected exchange, had him feeling that weird tingle in his head again.

“Are you alright?”, Ben asked, his face full of concern.

“Ah, I’m feeling better,” Hux said, in a low voice so that the nurse wouldn’t hear, “But I think I’m just gonna tell her that I’m tired so that I can go home. I have a math quiz later today that I didn’t study for, so ...”

Ben laughed. “Smart. Okay, then, I should probably get back to class, so... I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Hux started to agree, then stopped himself. “Um ... actually...”

“Yeah?”

“My dad works til like midnight tonight. If you don’t have anything to do today, you wanna come over after school? He leaves me money to order out when he works late so we can get a pizza. Oh and I just got Mortal Combat 11 for PS4. So we can play games, too. I mean, if you WANT to—“

“Fuck yes I do,” Ben said, smiling widely. “Okay, I’ll be there, around 3:30-4?”

“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

Ben walked out, and although Hux couldn’t see his face, he could picture the beautiful smile perfectly. He knew it was there, because the same one was on his face.

He heard the nurse coming, and quickly had to change his expression, to make him seem “sick” enough to be sent home. Not that it was easy; he felt rather like he’d just won the lottery or something.

And in a way ... it was like he HAD.


End file.
